Focus and Strength

To achieve something, whether it is a higher rank or the perfection of a technique, one must set his goal, then constantly persevere. Never give up on something to which you have a strong moral conviction. One of the most important secrets in becoming a leader of TaeKwonDo is to overcome every difficulty by perseverance.

Perseverance is steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. As we tell our students, it means to never give up. In our program we use positive reinforcement to get a student to keep trying, even when they are struggling. Instead of punishing students for doing things incorrectly, we keep working with that student until they can do it correctly, and every time there is an improvement, we let them know it.

Encouragement is expressed in multiple ways in our school. The most basic form is verbal phrases like “Awesome”, “Perfect”, and “Way to Go”. These phrases ensure the child that they are doing something correct, allowing them to continue trying to in the class. When a child feels as if they are failing, they are less likely to continue. Another way we show encouragement is with stickers. When children are really working hard, we will give them “Superstar” stickers that make them feel like they are the best in the class.

In order to succeed in our program, students have to persevere. There will be rough patches where they do not want to come to class, and times when they are struggling to do either a specific technique or a specific form. They only way to get past that is to continue trying to do it. The lesson that our students learn from this is to persevere through all difficult things, like schoolwork and other sports.